Holden officials challenge sewer shipping charges

Tuesday

Nov 6, 2012 at 12:00 PMNov 6, 2012 at 12:50 PM

By Melissa McKeon CORRESPONDENT

Town officials are challenging the sewage transportation rate the town is charged by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, and say the town has been overcharged for that service for many years.

That purported overcharge could amount to millions: The town's water and sewer department has budgeted $1.2 million for sewage discharge for the current fiscal year, most of which is for the disputed charges on the DCR bill, acting Town Manager Jacquelyn Kelly said yesterday.

The towns of Holden, Rutland and West Boylston and Anna Maria College use the same trunk line to dispose of sewage through Worcester to the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District. Charges for maintenance of parts of that line that go through the city of Worcester have long rankled town officials, but the lack of a recent signed agreement between the town and DCR makes the picture murky.

Ms. Kelly said Holden DPW Director John Woodsmall did the bulk of the research on Holden's contractual obligation in the maze of sewer agreements that go back to the 1930s and 1940s. In the years after the original trunk line was built and the 1940s-era agreement was signed, several different billing structures were approved between the state and the City of Worcester. But Mr. Woodsmall's Oct. 11 letter to DCR points out that the town was never party to any of those agreements.

In addition, the treatment center for the sewage changed from the city of Worcester's treatment facility to the Upper Blackstone district near the border of Millbury. Holden pays the Upper Blackstone district directly for treatment of town sewage.

Efforts to forge a more comprehensive billing agreement in 1999 were unsuccessful, Ms. Kelly said. Rutland and Holden continue to operate without signing the agreement from that time, though she said sporadic discussions have been held. West Boylston has a signed agreement with DCR; Anna Maria College only connected to the line a few years ago, so its agreement is more recent as well.

Though the town never signed the 1999 agreement, Ms. Kelly said the charges as outlined in that agreement have been billed and paid.

Holden Selectman Mark Ferguson has been the most vocal critic of the DCR charges, which he said Monday are responsible for the town having to raise rates for Holden residents.

“Those rates would have been less if we weren't being overcharged,” Mr. Ferguson said at yesterday's Board of Selectmen's meeting.

Mr. Ferguson suggested the board vote to have the town withhold future payments until such time as the matter of the charges is settled, but members agreed to wait for a reply from DCR, which Ms. Kelly said was expected soon.

Though a vote of the selectmen, who are also water-sewer commissioners, could be in favor of withholding payment, the town's charter for a strong town manager form of government leaves that decision to the town manager, which in this case is Ms. Kelly.The town expects its next quarterly bill for sewer transport early in 2013.

Selectman Kenneth Lipka asked town counsel whether there was precedent for recapturing past overpayments. Town counsel Stephen Madaus of Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee of Worcester said any legal action would be discussed in executive session if necessary.

The examination of sewer rates and contracts is only one cost-saving measure the water-sewer department is now handling; Ms. Kelly reported that inspections of water lines and hydrant flushing this summer had uncovered 20 leaks that are likely responsible for 173 gallons of leakage per minute.